The Mando Way
by fireprincessyunara
Summary: Ahkei isn't what you call a normal bounty hunter, but one who made it to the top and more. Follow the young mando as she braves the torments of being a halfbreed and the dangers of being force sensitive in a universe run by imperials
1. Chapter 1

**The Mando Way**

_The man fell down on his back, in a desprite attempt to get away from his pursuer, he began to crawl away. A Mandalorian bounty hunter walked annoyed towards him. The dim lighting of the alley street lamps glazed over the Mandalorian's red and black armor, and gave the warrior a sinister appearance._

_"I bet your going to beg for your freedom?" she offered, having been through this enough times to know what her prey was going to do before they even had the thought in their head._

_"P-please let me go; I have the money, I..." The man tried to explain._

_"Should have thought about that before your head had a price on it, and a nice one too," she smiled wickedly behind her T shaped visor._

_With a swift kick to the ribs the man was unable to move, and while he was gasping in pain, she put the binders on him, and pulled him to his feet. He wouldn't have to walk far, just to her speeder, one that was being driven by one spunky R2 unit. As the speeder came to the curve of the alley, the bounty hunter threw her prize into the passenger seat. She herself would be in the back, a blaster behind the man's head. When they reached her ship, they had secured the man in a laser cage, she herself was going to the nearby cantina._

_"Make for sure he stays," she ordered, getting a high pitched beep from her R2. "And keep Keith fed, wouldn't want him to try and eat my bounty," she teased, getting a horror stricken look from the man._

_"Who...who is Keith?" he asked. _

_"My man eating Strill," she said coldly, then walked out of the ship, back into the speeder and towards the cantina she normally goes to when she has the time, and she was in town._

_"James!" the bartender greeted pleasantly._

_"Now I haven't heard that name in a long time," She shook her head as she took her seat at the bar. _

_The man snorted. "What can I do for you James, and don't bother, I know you won't drink milk," he laughed._

_James rolled her eyes again, taking off her helmet and placing it at her side. "I'm twenty one now, no need to," she scoffed. "You know what I like Til," she added, running her gloved hand through her tangled black hair._

_In an instant her drink was given to her, she smiled, taking in the scent, along with the distant smell of smoke, and other kinds of liquor as well. _

_"Hey James, have you ever wanted to change something in your past?" one of the local drunks asked._

_She looked at him, shook her head, and then downed her drink. "That would imply that I regret something, and let's be honest, I don't regret a damn thing."_

Chapter one: a timely meeting.

Ahkei didn't have much; she lived in a small town, in an old house her mother could barely afford. She went to the local school, even though she hated it with a burning passion. She never complained though, her mom had been through so much, she didn't want her to worry about her.

"Momma, I…can I not go today?" she asked.

A tall Togrutan woman turned around, her red orange skin had white stripes coming down from her forehead, the sides of her face, right where her eyebrows were supposed to be, and curved up on her cheeks. She smiled softly at her small daughter. She knew her daughter hated going out, and she wouldn't blame her. Ahkei was something of a rare case, and people didn't like it.

"I'm sorry love, but you know what I said," she said, kneeling down to Ahkei's eye level.

Ahkei shuffled uncomfortably. "That knowledge is power," she said quietly. But everything she was learning was completely different than what her mother taught her, and sometimes it was very confusing, she didn't know who to believe sometimes.

"Why can't I learn how to fight like all the other kids?" she asked. "I'm a mando'ade, I should learn like them," she pouted. "I'm no scholar," she added, folding her small arms across her chest.

"Because, we don't need you attracting the wrong kind of attention," her mother began, and then kissed the little nub on top of her head. She pushed back Ahkei's bangs out of her face, showing both beautiful caramel eyes.

"You're too much like your father," she smiled then pushed her daughter out the door.

Because it was such a small town, Ahkei was expected to go to school on her own. Any help would only cause her to be taunted and picked on, even more then she already was.

The town itself was dirt colored, and bland. The only thing that wasn't was the school, which had a metallic look to it, and by order of the emperor, all human children must attend. Ahkei moved her bag from one shoulder to the next then started walking.

Since she looked mostly human, she was expected to go to the school, but no one would miss her if she didn't.

"Hey look, it's the half breed," snickered a small boy. He wore practice armor, and stank terribly.

Ahkei tried not to gag, to ignore it, but her hand went to her nose and pinched them shut to get rid of the smell. It wasn't her fault that she had such great sense of smell. They looked pissed when Ahkei plugged her nose, and he got up from his spot and walked towards her.

"Oh force please stop," she whispered. The stench of the stinky kid becoming stronger.

"Oh, you think I stink?" the kid hissed, tugging roughly on Ahkei's left head-tail.

She cried out in pain, but didn't move, in fear that it would do more damage than any good.

"Why don't you get on your knees and apologize, I'll forgive you if you do it well enough, being rude to your master and all," he smiled viciously.

"Di'kut, like I would ever be a servant of a hut'uun like you," she sneered back smacking the boy as hard as she could in the face.

Ahkei might as well be hitting a tree, because that was the kind of reaction she got. The boy snickered, his grip on her head-tail tightened. Ahkei cried out in pain again, she refused to shed tears though, that was just what he wanted of her. The boy was satisfied in her cries of pain, but his friend wasn't.

"Hey Leo, I think your slave is being difficult, I think you should punish her more," offered his friend a small chubby boy with brown hair.

"Yeah, I think so too," Leo replied then pulled down on her lekku, taking out a small knife from his side pocket.

"Now listen here freak, say you're sorry, and I won't hurt you, continue to misbehave and I'll be forced to cut off your head tail bit by bit," He said calmly, his knife sliding threatening over the soft flesh of her lekku, making Ahkei shiver.

_Just say it and move on, _she thought.

"And when she's done make her clean our boots, stuff slaves do," the chubby one smiled.

That was the last straw; they could only hurt her pride for so long. Something in Ahkei told her that this was unacceptable, that she shouldn't just stand here and take their beatings.

"I am a mando'ade, not some slave girl!" she hissed knocking the knife out of Leo's hand and punching him with all her might, as well with some help with the force, sending him back.

Leo stumbled back a bit, smiled then held out his hand. "Give me your vibroblade vod," he ordered.

"Right, teach her a lesson," the other boy laughed as he handed Leo the vibroblade.

Even before he activated the blade, Ahkei ran away from them, running as fast as she could. She knew it wouldn't be long until Leo caught up with her. She wouldn't stop though; she will continue to run until she couldn't anymore.

_Fight them,_ she thought, but pushed it aside. It would be foolish for her to stop and fight. Not only did she not know how to properly fight, but Leo had a vibroblade and years of training behind him.

Ahkei continued weaving though alleys and walkways, trying to make herself hidden, but in such a small town that was impossible. Suddenly she felt something coming, her Togrutan senses coming in handy. She side rolled out of the way. She didn't know what it was, but she knew better then to turn around now.

_I don't need to know, I need to get to safety, _she thought pushing herself to get up and run.

She sensed that another attack was coming towards her, but she was to tired to move out of the way. Not fast enough to escape the trap. Wire, or rope wrapped around her legs, metal balls smacking against the back of her leg. Ahkei fell down with a solid thud. She braced herself from what she knew would be intense pain.

Leo pulled her up by her third head-tail, the one at the base of her skull. Ahkei cried biting her lower lip as she was forced onto her knees.

"Come on freak; say something before I make you bleed."

She continued to bit her lip for a moment, but slowly her lips slid into a smug smirk. "Of course I do hut'uun, I'll remember this, so don't do anything you'll regret." She didn't know what compelled her to say what she did, but it was too late now to regret it.

Leo pulled in her head-tail again, wanting to hear her whimper in pain. When she didn't react the way he wanted he turned on the vibroblade and chuckled.

"You'll pay."

"If you don't let go of her right now, I'll show you how a warrior is punished," came in a deep threatening voice.

Leo turned around, the vibroblade still in his hands.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Without another word the man had punched Leo in the stomach not hard enough to kill him, but just enough to make the small boy pass out.

"You're a disgrace to your family," he said coldly then carefully laid the boy down. He stared at his friend, "Take him home, and never bug this girl again," he ordered.

"y-yes sir!" the chubby one replied swiftly, then hefted his friend up and started back home.

When they were out of sight, the man reached out to touch Ahkei's head. She shrank down, away from his touch.

"Don't worry asiik, I'm not here to hurt you," he said softly.

Ahkei didn't know if she could trust him, but he did just save her. She turned around to meet the black reflective T shaped visor. His armor was mainly blue, with certain parts painted black.

"That's better, they sure did a number on your lekku," he said then picked Ahkei up and carried her away.

Though she was only eight, she had the height of a five in a half year old, and probably weighed less. She allowed the Mandalorian to carry her all the way to a small black smith shop. He walked all the way to the back, and opened the door leading to the living area. Once inside he sat Ahkei down on the sofa and went looking for medical supplies.

Ahkei didn't say anything. She took in the surroundings, and wondered why she was here.

The man came back with bacta spray and some gauze.

"It might sting, but this is to help you," he explained as he slid his open palm underneath her left lekku, and then pushed her hair back. His fingers barely touching the now swollen lekku. He sprayed the bacta all over the swollen part, then began wrapping it up. This caused Ahkei to cringe in pain, her head-tails were very sensitive and after so much abuse, it was worse now.

"I'm sorry little one, I'll try and be gentler," the man said soothingly, finishing up with the first lekku.

He didn't need to tell Ahkei to turn around; she did it on her own, even pulled her wavy hair back so that he could get to the third lekku easily.

"Why didn't you fight back?" he asked.

Ahkei stayed silent for a moment. "I don't know how to fight; he has been training since he was five," Ahkei said softly. "It would be stupid to attack."

"Why didn't your father teach you?"

"I don't have a father, and my mom isn't a mando'ade, like me," she replied.

"No one to teach you to be strong…" the man sounded like he was taking pity on her.

"I'll teach you how to fight," he said briefly as he gently lay her head-tail back down against the back of her neck.

"You feel bad for me," she said flatly.

"No, I feel like I hate your father, no man should leave his child," he countered. "Feeling any better?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "You're not disgusted by me?" she asked, she still wasn't looking the man in the eyes.

"Why would I be?" he asked. "Just because your half Togrutan?"

"No one likes aliens," she whispered.

"Not everyone ad'ika," he smiled patting her head softly.

"What's your name mister?" she asked her face lighting up.

"Lance and yours?"

"Ahkei Jamey," she beamed. "I don't have a last name, mom said when I'm old enough she'll tell me," she pouted.

"She probably has a good reason to, come on little one, I'll take you home," Lance smiled warmly helping the little girl off the sofa and towards the door.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:

Wow I didn't expect this story to take off so quickly, then again, I put a lot of effort in Ahkei, and I would probably be depressed if people didn't enjoy her as a character. Now time for me to answer some questions!

Ayy Kaim; in this chapter you get to know who her parents are, so to keep myself from spoiling it, I'm going to stop talking about it lol. You will also learn some interesting things about Ahkei, and her mother, and just because I know most people haven't read 'just as I am' you wouldn't know that Lance is a returning character, one whom I loved so much, I couldn't kill him off XD. As for Ahkei's appearance, she looks mostly like her father, dark skinned, but with a bit more red in her skin tone then a normal human, she has smaller white marks that have been placed on her forehead, and cheeks, a reference to the Mithra race in final fantasy XI. She has short hair, and short head tails, as they grow at a slower rate than full blooded Togruta's.

Thank you for reading, and I'm so glad you liked Ahkei 3

AaylaKit; thank you for pointing out that fatal mistake XD. I noticed that I was wrong, but I forgot to edit that first chapter when I was transferring it over from figment. Every time Ahkei was to call herself a Mandalorian she was to say "Mando" but now I know something knew, and I shall use it ^^

Avocet; you don't need to wait any longer, for I have brought a new chapter. This story goes through Ahkei's life, and since this is basically the beginning, we still have a long ways to go before this fic is over…probably my longest fic if I do what I plan to….hmm, from early childhood, to struggling teen, down to after the empire ends…and sometime into the new republic era. Yes, we have a very long time. Also references to another fic I'm working on for my swtor guild. I hope you enjoy this fic, and stay with us to the end.

Much love to you all

~Fire~

Chapter 2: Training starts today.

Ahkei was half asleep, her head resting snuggly in the crook of Lance's neck. He had carried her on his back all the way back to her house.

Her mother was seen pacing through the main window. Her topaz eyes lighting up as she sensed her child's presence in the force.

"Ahkei!" she cried out running out of the house towards Lance and Ahkei.

Lance stared at the woman for moment. He was at a loss of words, but remembered the child in his arms and cleared his throat. "Ma'am, your daughter needs some rest, she had a rough day," Lance said turning around so that she could take Ahkei.

"Guards from the school came today; they told me she didn't show and I was worried."

"She was attacked earlier today by honorless boys," Lance explained. "She has been with me since then," his tone hinting that he had more to share.

Ahkei's mother's eyes grew wide, she held her daughter closer to her, thoughts of what might have happened ran through her mind.

"Please come in, I sense that there is more to this story," she said softly, turning around to lead the Mando back to her humble home.

Lance sat down on the floor of living room, legs crossed; he had been in a semi deep meditation when Ahkei's mother walked in. He smiled slightly as the young mother stood next to him.

"Lance, I thought Vader killed you," she said, her shoulders relaxing.

Lance looked up at her and smiled warmly. "Ahsla, if the republic's finest couldn't catch me, what makes you think those lousy imps would?" he asked sarcastically standing up and giving the Togurta a quick bow.

Ahsla suppressed a smile, and offered the mando a seat on the sofa. Lance took a seat and waited for Ahsla to sit with him.

"I'm training your daughter," he said cutting to the chase.

Ahsla shook her head. "No, we have to hide, we can't she'll…"

"She'll attract unwanted attention, I know, but if I could train her….she won't have to worry about being found." He started taking Ahsla's hand. He sighed deeply rubbing his fingers soothingly between her knuckles as he continued. "I will teach her control, but only control, her studies with me will be fighting, she will learn everything there is to know about being a Mandalorian."

Ahsla looked away from him; it wasn't that she didn't trust him. He was, after all, the one who saved her back on Coruscant. It was just that she knew he was a self-claimed sith, or at least the stories she had heard about him claimed so.

"Lance I…"

"She is a mando'ad and father or not, she needs to learn, because one day neither of us will be able to protect her," Lance said sincerely.

He did worry about Ahkei; he wanted to make her strong. He could feel Ahsla's worry in the force. He chose to ignore the worry he felt in the force, as a way to show that he meant what he said.

"How old is she?" He asked softly.

"Eight years," Ahsla replied.

"Then there is no time to waste, you don't know this, but when she is thirteen she will participate in verd'goten, and if you want her to live through it, I have to start her training tomorrow."

Ahsla stood up anger flashed across her face. "NO!" she protested.

"Is she or is she not a Mandalorian?" He demanded his Voice rising slightly as his own mando blood screamed in rage.

"By blood yes," Ahsla said bitterly. "but that shouldn't matter…"

"She lives on Mandalore, and she was born of Mandalorian blood," Lance listed, he looked dow at Ahsla "Who was the father?"

She looked up at Lance, shock in her eyes. She could see Lance's growing anger in his golden eyes, eyes rimmed with red.

"Boba," she said quietly.

"That Jedi hater of a Fett?" he asked his anger diminishing as he tried to stifle a laugh.

Ahsla opened her mouth to defend herself, but Lance spoke before her.

"That is a story you will have to share with me some other day, but not today," he laughed. "I'll be back first thing in the morning, pull her out of that shabbla imperial academy and. Before she fights, tell her, her last name," Lance instructed as he walked out of the living room, turning briefly to meet Ahsla's eyes.

"It was nice seeing you again."

"It was nice seeing you too," Ahsla smiled half-heartedly.

She watched the mando walk away, not knowing where he was going but knew in her heart that he would return.

When she could no longer see Lance's silhouette, Ahsla quickly retreated to the warmth of her house. The night air was a little too much for the Togrutan. She sat back down in her couch, closing her eyes as she tried to push aside unwanted memories. No matter how hard she tried though, the memories flooded in.

_"Master, what's wrong?" A young Togurta padawan asked._

_ "Run Ahsla, run!" her master yelled running towards the sounds of blaster fire in an attempt to distract their coming attackers._

_ Ahsla obeyed, running out through the back of the Jedi temple, she could hear heavy boot steps follow after her. Troopers were waiting for her, five or six of them, standing blasters at the ready. Ahsla backed up, her back hitting the wall behind her. _

_ "Open fire!" the squad leader yelled, but there was no response from his men._

_ Ahsla's eyes were wide with terror, the reflection of a glowing red blade danced within those topaz orbs._

_ "Now, now, that's no way to treat a lady," a sweet and playful voice chimed in._

_ "What! Who are you?" the clone demanded._

_ The man behind him slid the red blade close to the trooper's neck before he had the chance to turn around. The blade was not close enough to kill but enough to burn his flesh. A wicked grin spread across the man's lips as he opened his eyes, a sinister yellow rimmed with a bloody red._

_ "You can call me Dark Lord of the Sith," he smirked as he slit the troopers neck. "But Lance works as well."_

_ Ahsla didn't know what to do; her hands trembled and it was getting hard for her to stand. This man, he claimed to be sith, yet he saved her. _

_ 'He just wasn't the glory of killing a Jedi,' she thought._

_ "Calm down and follow me," Lance said turning his back to her._

_ "Wh-what?" _

_ "Oh, so you meant to be cornered and shot at?" Lance asked. "Then by all means go back and get shot, sorry for getting in your way."_

_ "No!" she yelled. "Like hell I wanted this!" her gaze turned to the dead on the cold floor. They may have been trying to kill her, but she still mourned for them, they never asked for this, and she had been fighting with them for years now, some of them she called friend. "I didn't want this, why would they…"_

_ "They were programed to do this," Lance said coldly._

_ He felt Ahsla's sadness grow in the force, and with a heavy sigh he turned around and held out his hand to the young Jedi._

_ "I'm going to save you," he said softly._

The cries of Ahsla's daughter had brought her back from her flashback. Ahsla took a few seconds to compose herself, Ahkei would ask questions if she felt her mother's sadness, and the other emotions that ran through her during that flashback.

The young mother ran into Ahkei's room, flipping on the lights so she may see her crying child. Ahkei was sitting up in her bed, tears stained her dark face. Ahsla walked to her, pulling the little half breed into a comforting embrace.

"There there, it's alright, momma's here, shhh," she said softly as she rubbed Ahkei's back.

Ahkei wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and sobbed into the crook of her neck.

"What's wrong?" Ahsla asked.

"I saw Imperials, they took you from me," she cried.

Ahsla patted Ahkei's head and rocked her back and forth.

"Don't cry, they won't ever take me from you, I promise," she reassured. "Get some sleep love, tomorrow you begin your training."

Ahkei's eyes lit up with joy when she heard that she was finally receive training. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her night gown and smiled up at her mother.

"Really?"

"Yes, Lance had said he would first thing in the morning."

With that said Ahsla tucked Ahkei in bed, kissed her forehead and left the little girl in her bed. She turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving it open a crack to let in some light from the hallway.

"Momma?" Ahkei piped.

"Yes Ahkei?"

"Can you close the door all the way?"

Ahsla waited in shock, this was the first time Ahkei had asked for something like that.

"Since I'm going to train like a mando, I might as well sleep like one, in the dark," Ahkei explained.

"Are you sure Ahkei?" Ahsla asked.

"Yup!"

With that said Ahsla closed the door all the way. Ahkei was scared for a moment, but she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She chased away her fear with the thought of being a strong mando, like the ones she heard about in stories.

When morning came Ahkei was up, and out of bed early. She was in the kitchen attempting to get something to eat when Lance came to the house. She opened the cupboard where the bowls were being kept, but it was too high for her to reach. She lifted herself up on her tiptoes, but her fingers could only brush against the cupboard door. Frustrated the small girl glared at the cupboard.

"It's not going to move on its own sweetheart," Lance smiled as he took a seat at the table.

Ahkei jumped, startled by the man's sudden appearance.

"I know that!" she snapped. "I'm thinking," she continued as she turned her attention back to the bowls.

Eyes narrowed Ahkei lifted her hands up towards the bowls. Lance smiled intrigued by the young half breed's motions. Ahkei took a deep breath and focused on trying to get the bowl. Within the cupboard a bowl wiggled back and forth, and did so for a few more minutes until it finally lifted out of the other bowls.

Ahkei smiled brightly, she could almost taste victory. The bowl hovered in the cupboard, and slowly made its way to the waiting girl below. Her concentration was strong, she showed potential. Lance realized then why Ahsla worried so much about Ahkei. She already showed great skill with the force, with the proper training she may just be a force to be feared. Lance shook his head of the thought; he had made a promise to Ahsla to only teach Ahkei how to be a Mandalorian.

"Hey Lance, I told you I could get it," she said.

Lance smiled down at her, he wondered if she knew the danger of what she had just done, or if she was planning on something else.

"The force is a powerful ally," he said quietly.

"You must be too, if momma is already allowing you in the house," Came her quick reply.

Lance stared at her with shock then muffled a chuckle. "Confidence, I'll give you that little'un."

Ahkei smiled proudly as she spun on her heals and dug into the fridge looking for something pre-made, so she could get it on her own.

"Where is your mother?" Lance asked, relaxing in his chair.

"She is still sleeping," Ahkei replied as she climbed into her chair.

"Then I'll be back," Lance smiled as she pushed himself out of his chair.

"Don't be waking up momma mister, She's a violent person if she's forced awake."

Lance nodded his head, taking her warning into consideration as he walked down the narrow hallway to the master bedroom. The door was shut, but lucky for Lance, it was an old fashioned door. With a twist of the metal handle and a slight push the door was open.

Ahsla was still asleep, lying on her side, her back turned to the door. Lance tiptoed into the room, closing the door behind him. Spotting a chair he quietly pulled it to the side of Ahsla's bed and sat down.

"It's been so long little'un, how have you been?" Lance whispered, enjoying the moment he had, just watching over the Togurta.

"You're late."

Lance blinked twice, and then looked down at Ahsla. She had one eye open and a small smirk on her face. Lance was surprised that she was awake but it was what she had said that hurt the most.

"I'm sorry, I ran into some trouble, I promise I won't be late again."

Ahsla sat up in her bed; she ran her long fingers through Lance's medium dirty blond hair. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Just don't let Ahkei fall," she said, her words drifting out of her mouth like a leaf in a calm lake.

Lance took Ahsla's hands and kissed them. "I won't let her fall, I promise."

"Then get started, she's expecting you," Ahsla smiled, her eyes shining with the rays of the morning sun.

Lance nodded his head, kissing Ahsla's hands once more before he left her room. He returned to Ahkei, just in time to see her getting dressed for what Lance believed was training.

"You're really excited about this huh?" he asked.

"I want to learn to fight, I want to be strong like my father," Ahkei started as she laced up her boots. "I want to be better than my father, better than any Mandalorian out there."

"And how will you know you're the best?" Lance asked.

Ahkei looked up at him, her caramel eyes glowing with a kind of joy Lance had only seen once. "When I am Mand'alor."


End file.
